Revelation 19:11

The Son of God Goes to War

19:11 Then ¹  I saw heaven opened and here came ²  a white horse! The ³  one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice ⁴  he judges and goes to war.

Revelation 19:14

19:14 The ⁵  armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, ⁶  were following him on white horses.

Zechariah 1:8

The Content of the First Vision

1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated ⁷  on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees ⁸  in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, ⁹  and white horses.

Zechariah 6:3-8

6:3 to the third white horses, and to the fourth spotted horses, all of them strong. ¹⁰  6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger ¹¹  who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?” 6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ¹²  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6:6 The chariot with the black horses is going to the north country and the white ones are going after them, but the spotted ones are going to the south country. 6:7 All these strong ones ¹³  are scattering; they have sought permission to go and walk about over the earth.” The Lord had said, “Go! Walk about over the earth!” So they are doing so. 6:8 Then he cried out to me, “Look! The ones going to the northland have brought me ¹⁴  peace about the northland.” ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

² tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

³ tn A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁴ tn Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”

⁷ tn Heb “riding,” but since this verb in English is usually associated with horses in motion rather than standing still, the translation uses “seated.” Cf. NAB “the driver of a red horse.”

⁸ tc The LXX presupposes הֶהָרִים (heharim, “mountains”) rather than the MT הַהֲדַסִּים (hahadassim, “myrtles”), probably because of reference to the ravine. The MT reading is preferred and is followed by most English versions.

⁹ sn The Hebrew שְׂרֻקִּים (sÿruqqim) means “red” (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT “brown”). English translations such as “speckled” (KJV) or “dappled” (TEV) are based on the reading of the LXX (ψαροί) that attempts to bring the color of this horse into conformity with those described in Zech 6:2-3. However, since these are two different and unrelated visions, this is a methodological fallacy.

¹⁰ tc For the MT reading אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) Aquila and Syriac presuppose אֲדֻמִּים (’adummim, “red”), thus giving the red horse an assignment and eliminating the problem of a fifth, “spotted” horse. The fourth would be a mottled red horse according to this view. There is, however, no manuscript support for this interpretation.

¹¹ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

¹² tn The Hebrew term translated “spirit” here may also be translated “wind” or “breath” depending on the context (cf. ASV, NRSV, CEV “the four winds of heaven”; NAB similar).

¹³ tn The present translation takes אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) to be a descriptive of all the horses – white, black, red, and spotted (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

¹⁴ tn Heb “my spirit.” The subject appears to be the Lord who exclaims here that the horsemen have accomplished their task of bringing peace.

¹⁵ sn The immediate referent of peace about the northland is to the peace brought by Persia’s conquest of Babylonia, a peace that allowed the restoration of the Jewish people (cf. 2 Chr 36:22-23; Isa 44:28; 45:1-2). However, there is also an eschatological dimension, referring to a time when there will be perfect and universal peace.